Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has again called on the Central Bank and Competition & Consumer Protection Commission to open investigations into the use of dual pricing by the insurance industry. This comes after Aviva admitted in yesterday’s Finance Committee that they use dual pricing to hike the renewal premiums of a third of their customers above the average price.
Speaking today after the publication of a report by the Financial Conduct Authority in Britain into the use of dual pricing, Deputy Doherty called for the practice to be investigated and said that Sinn Féin will act to protect consumers and take on the industry.
The Donegal TD said:
“Today the Financial Conduct Authority published its interim report on the issue of unfair pricing in the British insurance market. The findings are clear.
“The report has found that the insurance market is not working for consumers, with companies using dual pricing to artificially hike premiums for renewing customers. The report estimates that if these customers had paid the genuine price that reflected their risk, they would have said a total of £1.2 billion.
“The report also found that consumers do not know that this is happening, and that disproportionately affects vulnerable groups who are from low-income households or are less likely to understand how renewal affects their premiums.
“We know that this practice is happening in Ireland. Many of the insurance companies that operate here do so in Britain also. Only yesterday at the Finance Committee, Aviva, who also operate in Britain, admitted to using dual pricing to hike premiums on loyal and unsuspecting customers.
“Price discrimination is wrong, anti-consumer, and targets vulnerable groups.
“Last week the Finance Committee accepted my request to begin an investigation into this issue. I have called on the Central Bank to begin an investigation into the practice and will be meeting the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to make a similar case.
“Sinn Féin are acting to protect consumers and put an end to unfair pricing by the insurance industry.
"In the coming months I will be moving my Consumer Insurance Contracts Bill to final stage in the Dáil, and Sinn Féin will be bringing forward recommendations to end the unfair practice of dual pricing by the industry.”
Sinn Féin MP Elisha McCallion has said the British Government has abandoned all pretence of the ‘rigorous impartiality’ demanded by the Good Friday Agreement.
The Foyle MP was responding to comments by British Secretary of State Julian Smith in defence of Boris Johnson’s reckless Brexit proposals.
Elisha McCallion said:
“Any notion that the DUP would have a veto on this island’s future arrangements with the EU is a non-runner - it drives a coach and horses through the Good Friday Agreement.
“The British government’s proposals to bring back customs checks and create a harder border on the island of Ireland is dangerous and reckless and are a huge setback for our peace and political processes.
“It’s clear that Julian Smith and the British government no longer even pretends to act with the rigorous impartiality demanded by the Good Friday Agreement.
“Instead, they are wedded to a self-serving pact with the DUP to drive through a catastrophic Brexit which will drive our economy over the cliff.”
Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson has said border communities will suffer the dire impact of a crash out Tory/DUP Brexit.
Speaking following events held in border regions between Monaghan/Tyrone, with MPs Michelle Gildernew and Mickey Brady, Martina Anderson said:
“On the tour of the Monaghan/Tyrone border we have heard the dire impact any hardening of the border would have on the lives of people living in border communities.
“Boris Johnson's proposals to bring back customs checks on the island of Ireland is dangerous and reckless and represents a huge setback for our peace process.
“The Tories are wedded to a self-serving pact with the DUP to drive through a catastrophic Brexit which will drive our economy over the cliff.
“It’s important that we continue to hear the voices of business, traders, manufacturers and people who cross the border everyday in opposing this reckless agenda and any hardening of the border in Ireland.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson for Agriculture Brian Stanley TD has called for an increase in Agro-Forestry through a re-structuring of afforestation grants.
The Laois TD launched the proposal as part of Sinn Féin’s Alternative Budget 2020.
Speaking in the Dáil last evening, Stanley said:
“Sinn Féin is committed to an increase in afforestation, as are many farmers.
“Which is why in our Alternative Budget 2020 we have allocated an additional €2m in funding for afforestation grants targeted towards small and medium sized farmers.
“What we want to see is an afforestation strategy committed to long-term thinking.
“Farmers, young farmers in particular, want to commit to an Agro-forestry scheme over a 30 to 40-year period right throughout the planting, thinning and the management process.
“Unfortunately, however, the current ‘Forestry scheme’ as it is structured simply doesn’t work for farmers.
“The first problem with the current scheme is that it is tailored towards farmers in their 50’s or 60’s who are taking up the scheme as a retirement plan. Why? Because the premiums only last for 15 years.
“Why would a young farmer in his 30’s or 40’s convert his land into forestry when it won’t bring in any income after 15 years?
“Secondly, the current scheme is having a detrimental impact on many rural locations through the de-population of farming and an increase in corporate forestry.
“What Sinn Féin wants to see is a forestry policy that doesn’t replace farmers but one that compliments farming with forestry.
“Agro-forestry works best when you have tillage and livestock combined with afforestation.
“This provides increased production, increased carbon sequestration, as well as providing an additional source of income for the farmer.
“Thirdly, farmers should not be penalised for protecting hedgerows, which is what currently happens under the CAP rules.
“Livestock Farmers are incentivised to remove hedgerows in order to increase their hectares under Pillar 1.
“This must be addressed through CAP reform because we all know the positive environmental impact which hedgerows can provide through carbon storage and land drainage.
“Overall, What we want to see is a scheme that works for farmers, that is long term thinking and one that is committed to continuous sustainable broadleaf cover.”
Opening remarks by Sinn Féin Leas Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill at tonight’s panel discussion on ‘Brexit and Irish Unity’ in the Carrickdale Hotel.
“Today marks German unity day marking 29 years since reunification.
“Next month marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in the night of 9-10 November 1989 which symbolised the end of the Cold War and set in motion a chain of events that would forever change the face of Europe.
“As the unification of Germany is being celebrated by its citizens, the unification of Ireland has now also entered to the fore of political discourse in Ireland and Europe.
“The vast number of people on the island of Ireland are against the artificial divisions which exist in our country – whether visible or invisible, partition has failed.
“A growing number of people on the island believe that Irish unity is the democratic alternative to the unwanted Brexit being foisted upon citizens here.
“The EU has declared that in the future, and in the event of Irish reunification the North would automatically re-join the EU.
“The declaration by the EU states, ‘The European Council acknowledges that, in accordance with international law, the entire territory of such a united Ireland would thus be part of the European Union in the event of Irish reunification.’
“Those of a British unionist identity are starting to assess what this means, not because they wish to become Irish nationalists, but simply remain Europeans.
“The people on the island of Ireland should have a choice between Brexit and independence.
“Everyone is being challenged to rethink their economic future.
“There is an onus on the Irish Government to engage in this debate and to begin such preparatory work now in parallel with the conversations which have started in civil society.
“Long-term policies and resilient economic calculations, potential savings and synergies of the cost of reunification need to be developed by the Taoiseach and by the Dublin government.
“At this point, their short-sightedness if not addressed will lead to serious future economic problems.
“We need a national dialogue about the constitutional future, and what the political administrative and symbolic expression a New Ireland will take, including our economic model.”
Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD has called again for an immediate investigation by the Central Bank into the practice of dual pricing by the insurance industry. This comes after Aviva Ireland admitted in the Finance Committee that they used dual pricing to increase the premiums of existing customers on renewal.
Speaking at the Finance Committee, Deputy Doherty said this practice was designed to identify customers who are likely to renew and then punish their loyalty with higher premiums.
The Donegal TD said:
“Today at the Finance Committee Aviva admitted it employs dual pricing, or price discrimination, to target one third of loyal customers with higher premiums at renewal.
“This is the first time an insurance company in Ireland has admitted to using dual pricing, a practice which is known to harm vulnerable consumers.
“Insurance companies are using data analytics and complex algorithms to target customers who are viewed as being less ‘price-sensitive’ or more likely to renew, and then hiking their premiums on renewal.
“This practice is known to harm vulnerable customers, particularly those who are older or from lower-income households.
“Today at Committee, representatives from AIG admitted that dual pricing was about identifying customers who were more likely to renew their policies and then punishing them with higher premiums.
“This is a startling admission that the industry is employing pricing methods that target vulnerable consumers without them knowing it is even taking place.
“That is why I have asked the Finance Committee to begin an investigation into this issue.
“Today Aviva admitted to using price discrimination, but I have evidence that is a practice being carried out by several insurance companies in the State.
“I will be meeting with the Consumer and Competition Commission in the coming weeks to make the case for a market investigation into this aggressive pricing strategy that targets loyal and vulnerable customers.”
Sinn Féin Cllr Daithí Doolan has said that waste collection bills are a rip-off and the service should be brought back into public ownership.
Speaking at the launch of his party’s “Take Back the Bins” campaign in Dublin this afternoon, Cllr Doolan said:
“Bin collection was once a core service provided by local councils, but now it has been moulded into a lucrative industry run by private profiteers, with customers paying through the nose for it.
“Today we are launching our ‘Take Back the Bins’ campaign in which we propose to put waste collection back under the control of local authorities.
“We also want to end the side by side waste collection system which is clogging up our neighbourhoods, alongside increasing the number of recycling centres and the range of items accepted.
“We are the only state in Europe with a completely privatised waste collection service, and this has led to massive illegal dumping.
“The current service is expensive, bad for the environment and lacking in regulation – it is time to take bin services back into public ownership."
Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil this afternoon, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice and Equality Martin Kenny TD has said that Boris Johnson’s Brexit proposals are 'neither viable nor acceptable’.
He said that the so-called ‘workable alternative’ to the backstop presented by the British government amounts to a set of proposals that are “dangerous and reckless” and “play fast and loose with the Good Friday Agreement”.
Teachta Kenny said:
“Yesterday, Boris Johnson presented his so-called ‘workable alternative’ to the ‘backstop’, but the reality is that his proposals amount to a set of dangerous and reckless propositions that play fast and loose with the Good Friday Agreement.
“What we need on this island - north and south - is to ensure that there is no hard border, that our all-island economy is protected and that the Good Friday Agreement is defended.
"What’s now on the table does none of those things and there is cross-community, cross-party consensus on this matter across the island; with the exception of the DUP.
“The reality is that what Boris Johnson has presented is unworkable.
“These are time-limited arrangements that are subject to a DUP veto, which they will exercise. Make no doubt about that.
“It’s ironic that the British government would choose to use the phrase ‘renewable democratic consent’ to describe the role of the Assembly in these proposals, given that no part of Ireland has consented to Brexit. The people of the north voted to remain and that can’t be stressed enough.
“The proposal to give the Assembly the power to decide the type of arrangements that are put in place - and how long they will last - will afford the DUP a veto through abusing the mechanism of the Petition of Concern, as they have done on countless occasions previously. "This is entirely unacceptable and a flagrant abuse of the Good Friday Agreement.
“Any arrangement that can be vetoed, blocked or stalled by the DUP is a non-runner and Sinn Féin will never agree to this.
“I would challenge the Irish government to make it clear this afternoon that Boris Johnson’s proposals, as currently constituted, are neither viable nor acceptable.”
Sinn Féin TD for Waterford David Cullinane today welcomed the announcement that the Minister for Health expects that the full allocation of €4.8m for staff for the South East Palliative Care Centre in Waterford will be made in this year’s budget, with partial opening in February.
Deputy Cullinane said:
“Today I met with the Minister for Health, along with the other public representatives for Waterford, regarding funding for the South East Palliative Care Centre.
"This is a meeting I had called for, having spent the past year doggedly raising this issue both in the Dáil and with the Minister himself.
"The Minister was able to tell us that he expects that the full allocation of €4.8m in the budget for staff and costs to open and maintain the centre will be made in this year’s budget, with partial opening of the centre in February.
“This is to be welcomed if the Minister’s expectations are realised, but we must also make sure there are no more delays.
“The Waterford Hospice Movement and the South East CHO need certainty going forward, and this announcement should give it.
“It is therefore extremely important that the relevant staff are hired as a matter of urgency upon the official announcement and that the Centre is up and running as soon as possible.
“I will continue to keep up pressure on this and other health matters for Waterford and the South East, to ensure that the people I represent get the services they need and deserve."
Sinn Féin Education spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD has said that the proposal being considered by Trinity College to reduce the places available for Irish based students by a quarter over the next 5 years is a cause for concern, and reflects the underfunding of the third level sector.
Speaking this morning, Teachta Ó Laoghaire said;
“I note with concern the proposal being considered by Trinity of reducing the numbers of students coming through the CAO system by 25% over the next couple of years.
“While I recognize it is a proposal at the minute in the context of drafting a 5 year strategic, i would urge trinity to reconsider this, and Government to consider what role it has.
“I and others including the USI, and the IUA have repeatedly expressed concern about the impact of underfunding would have on access to third level education. This is evidence of these concerns coming to fruition. If this is followed through less students will have access to trinity and the points for many courses will sky rocket.
“If sustained and significant investment in third level education does not happen, then this will be replicated elsewhere, and more and more students will have the door shut to third level shut on them.
“The issue at play for most colleges is that they are chronically underfunded, and that higher education in this state requires substantial investment.
“Access to education is already an issue for many, and a reduction in the number of college places will only impact future generations.
“I have also expressed concern at the sustainability and increasing reliance on international students as a source of revenue, and that this is a source of income that may not always be as available as international competition to attract students becomes more significant.
“Trinity are citing student teacher ratios as being the reason this needs to happen, but surely an increase in lecturers would address that issue? Again this comes down to resources and underfunding, Government is failing to act on the stark warnings contained in the cassells report
“I believe this would set a worrying precedent, and is something the management at Trinity needs to reconsider”.
“I would urge to Minister for Education to take note of this, and how Trinity have ended up in this position and reach out to the relevant people in the college, and discuss what he can do to assist them.”
ENDS//
Commenting on today's judgement in the High Court in Belfast in the case brought forward by Sarah Ewart Sinn Féin Leas Uachtarán Michelle O'Neill said:
“I firstly want to commend Sarah Ewart and her mummy Jane Christie for their bravery and determination in bringing this case. They should never have had to. Sarah has taken a very tragic time in her life and used her experience to try to ensure no woman has to go through the same experience as she did.
“I welcome today’s judgement on the case brought forward by Sarah to the High Court, which confirms that current legislation on abortion is incompatible with human rights requirements.
“There is now an urgent need for reform of the legislation to provide the option of abortion where a woman’s life, health or mental health is at risk and in cases of fatal foetal abnormality and without specific indication for a limited gestational period so that cases of sexual crime can be dealt with in a compassionate manner.
"Sinn Féin believes that this and all outstanding rights issues in the north of Ireland should properly be dealt with, not at Westminster, but by locally accountable politicians in the Assembly.
“Sinn Féin's focus remains to get the political institutions up and running on the basis of equality, rights and respect so that we can address all of these important issues. The DUP’s anti-equality agenda, the confidence and supply deal with the Tories and Brexit remain the obstacle to this.
“Sinn Fein is opposed to the extension of Britain’s 1967 Act to the north but British legislation which criminalises women who have an abortion should be repealed immediately.
“In the absence of functioning political institutions the ongoing denial of rights by the DUP is untenable and unacceptable.
“Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement it is the responsibility of the two governments, under the auspices of the British/Irish Intergovernmental Conference, to deliver equality and those rights that are routinely available everywhere else on these islands."
Sinn Fein Senator Paul Gavan has made an impassioned plea at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for immediate action to save lives in the Mediterranean Sea.
Speaking during a debate on the topic Senator Gavan said:
“Human Rights are universal. Democracies are founded on that very principle. And that principle is being undermined every day that the vulnerable and powerless are left to perish in the Mediterranean.
“Earlier this week we heard President Macron reject the term 'Fortress Europe', but what other words could you use to describe a situation where the European Union has allowed 20,000 people to perish in the Mediterranean over the last 6 years?
“What word other than 'fortress' could describe the disgraceful use of human beings as bargaining chips in a shameful deal with the authoritarian regime in Turkey designed to keep desperate asylum seekers out of sight.
“The annual military expenditure of EU member states is €200 Billion Euros, with official EU policy being to massively increase this figure.
"Imagine if even a portion of that funding was diverted towards a progressive settlement programme across member states?
"But instead of helping migrants, we are now committed to spend more than €30bn a year on border security to keep them out. European money funds a despot in Turkey and warlords in Libya.
"We export our migrant crisis and wash our hands of it, in the name of 'protecting our European way of life'.
“I welcome the call for a new EU rescue mission. But Such a mission must be different from Operation Sophia in that it should not engage in assisting gangsters and warlords masquerading as coastguard and financing the running of death and torture camps in Libya.
"So what is to be done? This resolution puts in very simply: 'it is the duty of states not to let people drown in the Mediterranean'.
"And this duty falls to all of us. And some countries have simply failed to show solidarity.
"My Country, Ireland, is one of those. Over a five year period we have taken a total of just 2555 people, this despite a pledge to take 4000 people.
"To put these two pitifully low figures in context this year alone, 77000 human beings have crossed the Mediterranean in a desperate journey seeking refuge and protection.
"These figures for my country are frankly abysmal and a stain on our record in the field of human rights.
"The Government of Ireland must now begin now to show true solidarity and significantly increase the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers that it is prepared to resettle.
"They must also immediately dismantle the direct provision system currently employed to receive asylum seekers.”
Sinn Féin Louth TD Gerry Adams speaking in the Dáil last evening during statements on Climate Action called on the Irish government to introduce a moratorium on all new oil and gas exploration. He described the Government’s own Climate Action Plan as lacking ambition.
Teachta Adams said:
“It does not address the substantive issues of pollution, over-consumption, or corporate responsibility and opposition to the use of fracking gas.
“Two weeks ago the Court House Square in Dundalk was alive with the chants of young people as they spoke out against climate change. They, and the millions more who took part in a global day of action, have demonstrated an energy and commitment that is inspirational.
"A few days later, speaking in New York at the UN climate change summit, Greta Thunberg berated the political leaders of the world for not honouring past agreements on climate change. Thunberg accused governments of failing humanity and warned of 'the beginning of a mass extinction'.
"The Swedish climate activist said: 'We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line'.
"The Science Advisory Group to the summit produced a report - United in Science. It brings together the most recent data from the world’s six leading environmental organisations. The report found that current plans to meet the 2015 Paris agreement are insufficient.
"Last October the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that we have only 12 years to limit climate change. If we fail the people of the world face extreme droughts, heat, floods, increased food insecurity and water supply, and increased poverty for hundreds of millions of citizens.
"It also means that Belfast, Dublin, Dundalk and other coastal towns and cities will face significant serious flood dangers. Without resolute action millions are at risk.
"Our future, the future for our children and grandchildren, depend on the decisions we take now as a society. Moreover, any strategies to tackle climate change must be rooted in the principles of social justice and equality.
"Governments, including the Irish government and the EU, need to significantly step up their climate change commitments and challenge the big polluters.
"In his speech to the UN the Taoiseach announced that oil exploration will end. He also announced that gas exploration will continue. Five months ago the government granted consent to a subsidiary of the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company for an exploratory oil and gas well in the Porcupine Basin.
"This new licence allows for drilling in an area where that company and ExxonMobil already hold licences to 2033 to explore for oil and gas.
"Will the government introduce a moratorium on any further, new exploration for fossils fuels in Ireland? And will the government remove its opposition to the Climate Emergency Measures Bill?
"Finally, An Taoiseach’s plamas at the UN that he wants Ireland to be known as a ‘green country’ is worthless rhetoric when set against the government’s policies on environmental issues. His own Climate Action Plan lacks ambition.
"It does not address the substantive issues of pollution, over-consumption, or corporate responsibility and opposition to the use of fracking gas. The reality is that this state will spectacularly fail to meet our 20% reduction target by 2020.
"Sinn Féin’s approach is clear. We want to see 80% of our energy produced by renewables by 2030. This has to be done in a manner that protects lower income families and ensures that ordinary people do not carry an unjust share of the burden. In the last two weeks young people in cities across the world have shown the way forward. Their example must guide us in the time ahead”.
Speaking in response to the Tory Brexit proposals Sinn Féin deputy Leader Michelle O'Neill MLA said:
“The proposals announced today drive a coach and horses through the Good Friday Agreement and despite the spin serve only to pave the way for a no deal in 29 days time.
“The British Government is offering an all-Ireland regulatory zone for all goods, yet makes these arrangements dependent on the consent of the Assembly, effectively giving the DUP a veto.
“This is entirely unacceptable.
“Sinn Féin will never concede this.
“The proposals go further by extending the need for such consent to the All-Ireland single electricity market, again giving a veto to the DUP on whether to keep the lights on or not.
“They are treating the Good Friday Agreement arrangements like a commodity.
“Sinn Féin rejects this.
“This is further evidence of Boris Johnson and his government’s attitude towards the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process.
“This is an act of political sabotage.
“The EU must not accept these proposals as a legally operable alternative solution as it fails to meet the objectives of the Irish backstop.
“While a no-deal Brexit was avoided in March and April, there is no optimism that this will be the case come 31st October.
“This is catastrophic for citizens and for business.
“I share the strong rejection of local business and industry leaders of these proposals as unworkable, impractical and worse than a no deal.
“Remaining aligned with the EU single market and customs union, safeguarding the progress of the 21 years, protecting business, jobs and the all-island economy remains paramount for the majority of the people of the North, and across Ireland.
“Sinn Féin will continue to oppose this unwanted DUP/Tory Brexit, any border in Ireland and defend the Good Friday Agreement.”
Speaking in response to the Tory Brexit proposals Sinn Féin deputy Leader Michelle O'Neill MLA says;
“The proposals announced today drive a coach and horses through the Good Friday Agreement and despite the spin serve only to pave the way for a no deal in 29 days time.
“The British Government is offering an all-Ireland regulatory zone for all goods, yet makes these arrangements dependent on the consent of the Assembly, effectively giving the DUP a veto.
“This is entirely unacceptable.
“Sinn Féin will never concede this.
“The proposals go further by extending the need for such consent to the All-Ireland single electricity market, again giving a veto to the DUP on whether to keep the lights on or not.
“They are treating the Good Friday Agreement arrangements like a commodity.
“Sinn Féin rejects this.
“This is further evidence of Boris Johnson and his government’s attitude towards the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process.
“This is an act of political sabotage.
“The EU must not accept these proposals as a legally operable alternative solution as it fails to meet the objectives of the Irish backstop.
“While a no-deal Brexit was avoided in March and April, there is no optimism that this will be the case come 31st October.
“This is catastrophic for citizens and for business.
“I share the strong rejection of local business and industry leaders of these proposals as unworkable, impractical and worse than a no deal.
“Remaining aligned with the EU single market and customs union, safeguarding the progress of the 21 years, protecting business, jobs and the all-island economy remains paramount for the majority of the people of the North, and across Ireland.
